A PICTURE IS WORTH 1,000 WORDS

I love technology. Sometimes, however, I miss a rotary dial telephone, a VCR and a Smith Corona. Don't get me wrong, I love the advances in everything from airbags and heated seats to flat screen televisions and wireless connections. Who the heck would have thought that little old me could start a blog with a few random ideas and three years later have as many as 3,000 unique visits a month from people I've never met, faces I've never seen, living in homes around the world I will never visit. These same people invite me into their bedrooms, bathrooms and beyond for advice on everything from furry toilet seat covers (I would never, ever suggest anyone in any age group purchase one of these hideous creations) to what pot to cook chili in. Today's advances in technology means someone like me from the peace and quiet of my office in upstate New York can offer design advice to you in anywhere, USA and far, far beyond (thanks to a little tracking system I can actually see where you are...Germany? Who knew. Japan, Sweden (Hi, Majken!), Australia (hellooooo, Debbie), Mexico...you get the idea. With the click of a button my little ideas hit the world wide web and, as sophisticated as everything has become, I'm still completely amazed (and shocked) that it all works so seamlessly. Well, that is, until today. A few days ago I boarded an airplane in New York with my ipod, blackberry and kindle in tow. I nestled into my comfy leather seat, touched the screen on the seatback in front of me and settled into the seven hour journey west to visit my parents for the weekend. The multi-tasker that I am, I listened to my favorite music, caught up on old episodes of "30 Rock" and read the New York Times all before the Boeing 757 zipped over Nashville (this, I know, thanks to the on-screen flight tracking system). After finishing a delicious Orzo salad, I touched down in steamy Palm Springs, California where my parents greeted me with open arms and air conditioned leather seats. Today I sat at my Dad's computer to share a tip (we'll get to that in a minute) and I laughed for a second as I stared at his gorgeous, flat screen mac computer. When I lived at home, granted it was in the 80's, our computer was a word processor. No fancy anything. No Googling anyone. No parental controls. Now, retired, my parents house (thanks mostly to my techie brother, Dwight) is fitted with just about everything you can imagine. Every room has a flat screen television, macbook laptop computer, the house (of course) is wireless, with the touch of a button on an iphone music comes screaming out of the speakers in the backyard and last night my brother showed me the latest purchase....a Roku (silly me thought it was some kind of Japanese poetry) but, in my simple mind, it's one more remote for the TV I will never figure out. So, here I sit after an afternoon of shopping with my mother (mostly to escape the 114 degree heat) where I found a few great deals at Pottery Barn. So, true to form I raced home and started to write about it but after two hours of attempting to upload a photo of outdoor pillows, I gave up. Apple has developed its products to be incredibly user friendly. So much so, that this user has no clue how to navigate the simplest of tasks. So, for today, and the next few days until my return east, you will simply have to rely on the picture in your minds eye and my silly, irreverent descriptions. Before I left I noticed our dog, Canyon, has taken a liking to every sofa in our home, recently "fluffed" by me with the addition of new throw pillows for summer. Sadly, those lovely pillows now all smell like wet dog (and humid, moist air). Then I walked through the lovely air conditioned doors of Pottery Barn in Palm Desert, and right into a 50% off sign. Below the sign were buckets upon buckets of pillows in various colors and designs for $19!!! Now, usually I get tricked by the sale prices at places like Pottery Barn (especially on things like pillows) because they sell the cases and inserts separately, making the initial bargain far more expensive than my high expectations for low prices. Until today. Pottery Barn has discounted all outdoor pillows made of sunbrella fabric. So, I thought, why not use these INDOORS where my lovely daughter can drool away, guests can spill whatever they'd like and I'll just wipe it away! Instead of paying $60 for the similarly designed "indoor pillows" (and crying when they get dirty) I picked up a bundle for less than a baggie of quarters! To see the great deals, log on to www.potterybarn.com. (sorry, I didn't intend on rambling on and on like this. Clearly, when I have a picture to talk around I write much less!!)
TIME TO COMPLETE TASK: No time at all
COST: All outdoor pillows of various sizes are $19 for both pillow and cover. I love the blue stripe and brown stripe, 20" square and oblong for our downstairs daybed.
STRESS LEVEL: Realizing I'm not a mac daddy: LOW